New Beginnings
by shawniees
Summary: Seto Kaiba, now 22, has to hire a new employee. Will he get more than what he bargained for? Main characters inclucde: Seto, Mokuba, Yami Yugi, and an OC, Sonja. Rated T for all things Minor.
1. It begins

Authors notes:

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters! Although it would be nice to have all that extra money...

Kaiba is 22 and I made Mokuba about 12. I know it doesn't fit the Yugioh Timeline well, but I needed Mokuba to be very young and innocent and childlike for this to work in the story. Twelve is actually a little too mature, but oh well. Sonja is twenty two also.

Roughly 1 dollar = 100 yen. Very roughly.

Office layout : top floor

Elevator and into a large office area with many 'cubicles' To the right, there is a break room for employees, and on the left are the bathrooms.

Toward the end of it, there is an open area with two desks across the room from each other. The desk on the right is in front of a door that leads to a small, private, kitchen area where there is a fridge, sink, coffee pot, various other kitchen things and two small tables with chairs. Only Seto and his secretaries are allowed this area. The other desk is very near a door leading into a medium sized office. There is a large desk near the left wall with a picture window behind it. There are many filing cabinets, a copier and various other office equipment and a coffee pot. Two chairs in front of her desk and a small two-seater couch. Across the room against the side of the wall. There are two doors, one leads to a bathroom with a sink and toilet, and the other door leading into a large conference room that seats about 20 people. There is another door, near the desk, leading into Seto's office. It's a large room, bookcases line the far wall. There are a few filing cabinets on the other wall. The back of the office has almost a living room feel, a few chairs and couches. His desk on the other side, full lenght window behind him.

------

She first met him on a job interview. Sonja frowned. He must think he's God or something the way he behaves. He acted like her resume was the crappiest thing he had ever read! It was an excellent resume! Her father was in the army all her life, and her mother died when she was very young. She had probably been in more places than this guy _and_ worked in many military and big business offices worldwide, yet here he was questioning _her_ ability! If he can run a company, why can't she be a decent secretary? She had snuck to work with my father since she was eight and learned about everything she could get her hands on from his secretaries. Being the daughter of a four-star General had its benefits. She had her first desk job in his office when she was fifteen and learned to work quickly, efficiently, and excellently under him and his secretary. She was 'home schooled' at eleven and graduated at fourteen. She had advanced rapidly due to her diligence and sheer thirst for knowledge. She had taken business courses online and got a double master degree by the time she was almost seventeen. She then got her first job at a world-renowned company on her seventeenth birthday. She was not only overqualified for this 'secretary' position, but she could probably run his company as well as he could! They had already talked for about forty five minutes. There were tons of rapid-fire questions about her work history and herself. Not to mention his secretary, Reina, interviewed her first! Talk about strange.

It was a wet, wintery day, but spring was just around the corner. She glanced outside as she straightened her knee length dark brown skirt and smoothed her yellow shirt. She liked the outfit. It brought out her dark brown eyes and make the little gold flecks pop out more. She looked just like her mom. Dark brown eyes, darker blonde, curly hair, and the ability to wear nearly any color. That's what her father told her anyway. She shifted in her seat and tucked her hair behind my ear. She glanced around his office. It was nice. A little dark in the coloring, dark browns, greens, and maroons. His desk was a deep mahogany color and his chairs were very elegant, but also _very_ comfy. He didn't cut out comfort for looks. She liked that. There was a wall long glass window behind his desk with a stunning view of the city. She shifted in her chair again while he continued to peruse her resume. He hadn't spoken to her in about five minutes.

"Hmm. I suppose I have room for you here, Sonja. I could use a new secretary, my main secretary is retiring and you seem," he paused, "very capable of handling the workload office like mine has. Of course you'll be more than just a simple secretary."

She waited for him to continue, but he didn't. Maybe she misjudged his expressions. His blank face is awful hard to read! He seemed so cold, distant. He seemed as though he were uninterested in her resume, but he seemed to have taken note of her qualifications. Maybe she was just imagining things.

"There will be a three month trial period," He stated, setting the resume on the desk. "After that you can either accept or decline the position, or you'll be let go. Do you have any questions?" he asked, steepling his hands and looking at her intently. She swallowed. He was very intimidating. Those icy blue eyes seemed to bore right through her. She shook herself mentally. She could handle this.

"Yes, I do have a few questions for you Mr. Kaiba." He continued to gaze at her intently. She took a little notepad from her purse and clicked the pen on. The corner of his mouth twitched.

"You need a notepad to remember what was discussed?" he scoffed. She glanced at him, unconcerned.

"I find it useful for future cross referencing and comparing jobs. I like to know what kind of company I could possibly be working for." She stated unabashedly. He leaned back in his chair with a smirk. He was mildly impressed.

"Mr. Kaiba, what exactly is it that this company does?" she questioned him. He raised his eyebrows.

"You don't _know_?" he said, mildly irritated. "Then why did you waste my time by applying for a job here?"

"I want to hear it from _you_." She stated. It was her turn to look at him intently. Seto Kaiba was a bit irritated. This was a waste of time. He nearly told her to leave, but her resume flew back into his mind. She was very qualified. Very. He could use someone like her here. He decided to amuse her.

"Very well," he began. "This company used to produce weapons and military software. When I took over, I decided to make it benefit everyone. I now mass produce gaming software and equipment. Holographic technologies, along with portable duel disk technology are some of the things we do here. I also own many other companies worldwide. Kaiba Corp is on the leading edge of technology, medicine, and innovation. I own hospitals, hotels, airports, and many other types of industries. Not to mention being a prime shareholder and board member at most of the institutions owned and creating most of the technology myself." He sat back smugly. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Impressive." She said impassively. "Do you donate to charities and community efforts?"

"I do." He responded, just as impassively. "Kaiba Land is one of them. Entrance is free for all who wish to enter. It is just one of the charitable organizations that I invest in." Now she looked impressed.

"What will be expected of me in this position?" she asked. He tried not to smile. He knew she would take the job.

"Basic skills in typing, and the office software, you can learn the office software easily if you're not familiar with it." He began. "Filing, phone screening, answering, and messaging. I'll be on conference calls and in board meetings often, so you'll have to know what is important and what is not. I'll help with that." He thought for a moment. "Broad knowledge of the company and some of its affiliates, depending on what I'm working on, proofing contracts, answering mail and email." He glanced at her mildly. "I'm sure you know what to expect, you've worked at high level offices before." She nodded.

"What kind of benefits does your company give employees?" she questioned next. He expected this one. It would just be dumb _not_ to ask.

"My employees have multiple insurance and medical options. The plans are fully customizable to the need of the employee. Medical, dental, car, health, and life insurances." he ticked them off on his hands, "Also there is a daycare for those with children, a cafeteria and meal plans, after school programs, and employee discounts. Every year, you either get a raise or you get fired. Either you're doing your job or you're not." He stated caustically. "I don't keep people who waste my time or money. I am lenient to a point. There are also yearly bonuses, and various other bonuses throughout the year when the company does well." He half smiled at her expression. She sat back in her chair, slack-jawed and wide eyed. He resisted the urge to chuckle.

"_Very_ impressive Mr. Kaiba." She said clearing her throat and closing her mouth.

"I find people work their best when they are highly motivated."

"Evidently." She stated thickly. He nearly smiled.

"What is my expected starting wage?" she asked.

"You'll start at 1,500 yen an hour. It will increase with your workload and you're abilities. The more you are able to do, the more you get paid." She stared at him. Nearly twenty bucks an hour! How could she refuse?

"How many secretaries have you had?" she asked. "Right now, I have three. Reina is pretty good at her job. She knows the company and has been around a long time. She actually insisted in a pay cut when she came to me and asked me to get her someone else to help. Of course, I didn't, but her raises were minimal after that. She was here before the takeover and wished to stay. She was well compensated for it." He glanced at the door. Sonja was taken with him. Never had she seen someone so cold and calculating nearly transform in front of her very eyes. He seemed so emotionless, yet he took _such_ good care of his employees. Who was this man? Not that it really mattered. She was taking the job. Before she could say anything, he interrupted her thoughts.

When will you be able to start?" he asked her. She stared at him quizzically.

"How do you know I'll take the job." She said smartly.

"You don't seem stupid." He replied. She laughed. Smart man.

"I can start Monday, but I can begin training today if you wish." she said, "I would like to see the office and begin getting familiar with the layout and how things work. If that's alright with you sir." He nodded.

"Very well, Reina, Aya, and Tohru will show you the ropes. Your desk will be where Reina is now," he pointed towards the desk outside his office door, "Aya is right outside the door and will be assisting you, and Tohru is on the far side, she's a…permanent temp." she stared at him. He continued, "Tohru …works in the office, but she also knows, somewhat, how to do Reina and Aya's job. She takes over for short periods of time when one of them is sick or on vacation or whatever else is needed. Reina trained her and Aya herself. They are in the office outside of Reina's, or your I should say, office. Reina and Aya", he paused, "are more of an extension of me. They help me with the brunt of my filing, paperwork, and legal matters and are involved in the day-to-day workings. That's what you will be doing. Reina will show you the ropes." He turned away and began working on his computer. 'I guess I'm dismissed,' she thought. "Thank you sir" she said as she headed out the door, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

She walked out the door and Reina looked up, wide-eyed. They stared at each other. "I…uh, I got the job. You're supposed to show me arou-." Reina jumped up and squealed in a manner most unbefitting a fifty year old Japanese lady. She then clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, sorry about that." Reina glanced at the door. "Mr. Kaiba...um…doesn't like loud noises. Not that he can hear them through _that_ door. It's been soundproofed very well." She cleared her throat and ran over to Sonja. "I'm _so_ glad you were hired. I liked you. We've been through _so_ many people…" She continued to babble as she led me toward the door. When she stopped to take a breath, she interrupted her.

"_SO_ many people?" Sonja questioned. Reina looked at her blankly for a moment.

"Oh, yes." She said after a moment. "You are probably, oh, the thirtieth person we've interviewed. And only about the twelfth to get into Mr. Kaiba's interview." Sonja stared at her.

"You mean they didn't get past _you_?" Sonja cocked her head to the side and looked at Reina. "What were you looking for?"

She smiled at Sonja. "Well dear," she said patting her hand, "I knew Mr. Kaiba would need someone who deals with stress well, is efficient and smart, knows how to type and other….office-y things." She waved her hand absently. "I also knew that you would have to," she lowered her voice and looked around, "put up with Mr. Kaiba. You see dear, he's very hardworking and ambitious and…well to put it bluntly, a prick." Sonja's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, I think that's what you kids are calling it these days anyway," she continued.

"You see dear, Mr. Kaiba needs someone who's going to be his right hand and gopher at the same time. You can delegate stuff out, like send someone else to go get his dry-cleaning and such, not that he ever makes you do _that_, but you get the idea. You _will_ have to learn to make his coffee _just_ right, make sure we _always_ have apples, he does love those things, drop off the confidential papers and know your way around the business world. It's very demanding and tiring and at times degrading, but Mr. Kaiba is not _too_ bad. Not compared to his stepfather, whom he inherited the company from. He was a tyrant. Mr. Kaiba came in, cleaned out the riff-raff and bad workers, remodeled this broke down building, gave everyone who was working here a raise and benefits, and created new jobs for people. Even made a daycare on the bottom floor for working parents! He's a good kid at heart, but _very_ hard to work with. Very gruff. He is very cold and calculating, a ruthless business man. I would never want to make him angry or try to hold up a deal he's working on." She shivered slightly. "He is very strict and very adamant about his staff. You work or you don't get paid. He's fired many a person because they didn't pull their weight. He monitors _all_ of our computer activity. I will say that he understands that on some days, people just can't get going or that we slack off sometimes, like when we're sick or having a bad day, but if you goof around too much, he takes note. I know that in the last year, he's investigated at least five people, for four months. He gave them all warnings at the two month point. He monitored their work quality, level, and efficiency against time spent surfing the internet. Three didn't take him seriously." She made a motion across her throat. Sonja swallowed. "He's a hardass, but he's fair." She nodded to herself as she said this. Then shook her head sadly, "That young man has gone through so very much and is very," she paused, thinking of the right word, "hard on the inside. But he does love his little brother so. He's almost a different person around that little boy, not that anyone really sees it. I once saw him laugh at the boy. It was very heartwarming" She smiled gently.

Sonja stared at her. "Once? You saw him laugh…once?" she questioned, bemusedly. Surely she was jesting. She nodded, "Once and only once. He will smile from time to time. Kind of…Anyway, let's show you around shall we dear?" She grabbed Sonja's arm and began to led her around and introduce me to people. For first time in her life, Sonja was at a loss.

-------

Sonja sighed. She couldn't believe she had been here there for four months. She wasn't sure if it felt like she'd only been here a week or all her life. She was no longer practically glued to her computer, trying to learn all the things Mr. Kaiba expected her to know, and it was a lot, but she did it. All that she had had to do was get the files straightened out in the cabinet, learn the software he had _invented_, and be on top of things at all times. The last secretary not been very efficient and it took her a month to straighten out the filing system she had going on. Sonja _still_ wasn't sure how the lady had filed things. When she questioned Seto about it, he said he had no idea how she did it either. It had no rhyme or reason to it. Now they were named, numbered, filed, and oh so easy to find. It had taken her two weeks of hard work and late nights to make a computer database for it to, so now he could find a file without waiting on her to find it, and they could cross-reference the files too. She had simply utilized _his _system to do what she needed. Seto or 'boss man' as she like to call him, much to his chagrin, was grudgingly impressed. She got a _nice_ bonus that month. And a raise to boot! He may be hard to work for, but he was generous to a fault if you went above and beyond. Not to mention making his work easier. It took them a few weeks to get along to be honest. She was used to working in a very dull and serious environment, but this guy was too much! She knew it was the custom to be very formal, but she is just not that way. She can be when she needs to be. But all day all the time? She finally snapped about one week after her second month. She told him, and I quote, "I can't take this stuffy, formal atmosphere! I understand that's the custom, but we are in the same office, all day every day, and have to interact _constantly_, and I can't work like this!" he looked stunned. She then stammered an apology and he seemed to take it in stride. He said he didn't know he was making her…uncomfortable, and that he would hate to lose her, seeing as she had learned the office ins and outs so quickly and was a, and he looked a bit annoyed to say this, 'great help' to him and 'much more efficient' than the other secretaries, then surprised her by asking her to stay on full time, almost a full month before the deadline. She accepted.

Since then, he let her be a lot less formal when it was just the two of them in the office. He seemed to be doing better with it and has began to loosen up a bit on the formalities, but he was still all business for the most part. He had also grudgingly told her that he had received compliments on me from associates that came to meetings in his office on her, 'genial nature' and 'knowledge of customs for an American.' He muttered something else about 'formalities' but she didn't catch it, and he didn't repeat it.

She was going over some figures that Seto had sent her way. Something wasn't adding up. She heard her door open. She looked up as Yami walked in. She smiled and greeted him. He seemed like a nice guy. He looked pretty good in leather too, which he was only able to pull off because of his wacky hair. He was Kaiba's favorite 'opponent' and best friend. He came at least once a week, usually Friday. They used to duel for a few hours, but recently the day was pretty much reserved for 'dueling'. She had first thought they were fencing, which Yami thought hysterical, but the boss man and Mokuba did not. It was the term for playing duel monsters.

"How are you Sonja?" Yami asked, settling himself into one of the two chairs in front of her desk.

"I'm alright. You?" she responded genially.

He shrugged a shoulder. "Pretty good. Shop's doing well." Sonja nodded at him. He ran a little game shop in downtown Domino, right around where she was staying. It seemed it was given to him by a friend, Yugi, who had inherited the game shop when his grandfather died shortly after his high school graduation. Yugi was engaged to a girl named Tea, who wanted to be a dancer in New York. So off they went to make a new start. A guy named Joey married a girl named Mai and they were touring America in dueling championships, and then Tristan and Serenity had moved off to America too. Serenity was Joey's sister, and had wanted to go to a prestigious east coast medical school to learn to be a doctor. Yami had decided to stay here, deciding that he needed to be his own person. He then had made it a goal to befriend Kaiba. Either that or annoy him for the rest of their lives. Sonja had smiled at that. She hadn't met any of the people he talked about, but Yami showed her pictures of them. Apparently, they were the boss man's friends too, but Seto told Sonja he wouldn't claim them as anything. Yami told her that he had hosted a 'party' at his mansion when the 'gang' last came in, about a year and a half ago, and had enjoyed himself thoroughly. Of course, he wouldn't admit it. She was told they were going to be coming back again in the next year, and that Seto had already told them, and Yami quoted, 'there's no sense in spending inordinate amounts of money at hotels I already own while you are here.' Effectively establishing they would be staying in his home while they were there. Sonja learned a lot about the boss man from Yami. He wouldn't go into a lot of detail about his past, stating it to be Kaiba's business to tell her, but he gave her enough to go on. Sonja couldn't help but feel respect for the icy man she worked for, who was evidently, not as icy as he wanted people to believe. Underneath that tough exterior, he had a good heart, and was still finding out who he was. Years of abuse and mistreatment had twisted him into a bitter, angry, antisocial youth that was bent on domination. She hadn't seen much difference, but Yami assured her there was, and he had changed drastically from when he first met him at sixteen. She had to admit, she had seen kinks in the icy demeanor Seto Kaiba had, especially when it came to his brother. She thought that anyone who cared about a kid that much was bound to have some good inside of him.

Yami and her had chatted for a few more minutes, then went in to the boss man's office.

She tapped her pencil against her lips and thought about the office. She had noticed that no one seemed to like the boss man very much either. They all seem scared of him. From talking with Aya, she found out he's a lot nicer than he used to be, which must've been really bad because Sonja thought he was pretty bad right now. Aya and Tohru also told her that everyone who was around before he was here liked him better than his step-father, who ran the company before he did, but died years ago, when Kaiba was about sixteen. They say he treated Kaiba badly. Must have been very bad to make this guy act the way he does. She sighed. Guess she'll find out eventually. She might as well do some filing while she tried and figure it out. As she was sorting files she heard her floor creak. She smiled and counted 3...2...1

"Freeze sucker!" she whipped around and there stood Mokuba with his hand on the handle to his big brothers office door.

"Oh man!" he whined, "How do you do that?! I was almost there!"

She laughed. It only took two weeks for this bright-eyed little boy to absolutely win her affection. He and his brother were so different. Mokuba was so sweet and easy to get along with and loved games. The first time she met him, he was bouncing all over the place and asking her questions and wanting to play games. Kaiba gave up trying to keep him from acting like Sonja was _his _personal playmate instead of a secretary. Sonja told Seto she was really okay with Mokuba bouncing around her office. He seemed relieved and muttered something about 'crazy' and 'more free time'. Besides, he allows her to use my work time to 'hang out' with Mokuba, just as long as she didn't get behind on actual work. The man has a heart of gold when it comes to his little brother.

Mokuba and Sonja have a few games running. She hide comic books on Tuesdays and he has to find them. He lives for American comics. Sometimes they play a card game called 'Duel Monsters', which she had not heard of before. After hearing she hadn't ever heard of the game and not knowing how to play, he freaked out and ran into the boss man's office, ran out, then was back about an hour later, with a brand new starter deck for her to learn with. His brother seemed a little ticked that I hadn't heard of the card game either. Apparently, Kaiba's some sort of champion and his company actually manufactures the cards. Oops. Anyway, Mokuba gets a kick out of teaching her how to play it. Of all the games they play, his favorite is trying to outwit her by getting into his brothers office before she can catch him, which is today's game of choice. She won. Which means he owes her lunch. He can afford it. Besides, if he wins, She treats him and the loser picks the place to eat.

"So where ya taking me today buddy?" She asked him as he plopped into one of her chairs. He shrugged one shoulder. "I dunno. Wanna pizza?" she laughed. "Sure. Pepperoni okay?" He smiled. "I knew I liked you! See you at noon!" He bolted into his brother's office and greeted him loudly, "I lost again! Do you know how she does that? It's like she eyes in the back of-" I hear Kaiba chuckle as the door closed. She was glad Mokuba could make him smile. She have never _seen_ him smile or laugh. She just hears him laugh when his brother is around. And even though she could sometimes ram the files he was always needing down his throat, he would do anything for his little brother, which mean there had to be something good down inside him. He was wronged somehow, and it would take a long time to break the rock he had for a heart, and his brother would be the one to do it most likely. Seto Kaiba doesn't seem to take much interest in girls, not that he likes guys, but he prefers duel monsters to a pretty girl and he doesn't seem to have time for much outside of running his company. He'll grow out of it. She began to work again.

-----

Sonja sat at her desk, a pizza box hung open and was half eaten. Mokuba was sitting across from her, reading a comic while she was looking through his dueling deck. She took her time, looking at each card and their abilities and attack points.

"This is a really neat deck." She told him. He beamed at her.

"Seto helped me put it together." He told her. She nodded absently.

"So I take it your brother has his deck with him too?" he looked at her like she was nuts.

"Of COURSE he does! He's the number one ranked duelist in the world. You don't just leave your deck anywhere!" Sonja's eyebrows went up.

"In the _world?"_ she repeated, awed. She knew he was some sort of champion, but she figured it was local, or just in Japan. "People play this game worldwide and he's number one? Where does he get the time?"

"Seto _makes_ time to duel." Mokuba said proudly.

"Evidently."

At that moment, Seto walked in. "Dueling?" he questioned, taking off his coat and going to hang it.

"No." Sonja responded, "He's just telling me about the game." Seto stopped with the coat halfway to the coat rack and stared at her. She looked at him.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You've-you've never played?" he said, amazed.

"Well yes I've _played _the game, but I had never _heard_ of it until I started working here." She responded, glancing back down to the cards. Seto just stood there in shock.

"I-I never knew anyone who _didn't_ know about Duel Monsters." He said, stunned. He still had the coat in the same place. She glanced at him and laughed. He glared at her.

"Hang up your coat boss man." She said chuckling. He glanced down at his hands. Sure enough, he still had his coat. He went to hang it up and missed. He frowned and did it again. "You _do_ have your deck with you?" she questioned him. He snorted.

"Of course I do." He reached inside and pulled out a small black case and held it up. Her eyes widened and she grinned.

"Can I see it?"

"No." he responded instantly. Her face fell. She looked at him and frowned.

"But I wanted-"

"No."

"Why can't I-"

"No."

"But…"

"No." They stared each other down.

"Well then," she said shrewdly, handing Mokuba back his cards. "I guess I _won't_ be seeing what a _world famous, top ranked_ deck looks like." He hesitated. She tried not to smile. She turned her attention to a contract that was lying on her desk and began to flip through it. Mokuba stared at his brother, who was looking very conflicted. Seto glanced at his deck, at Sonja, then back again. He made a noise in the back of his throat.

"Fine. Here." He said, walking over and handing her the case. She beamed at him and reached for them. He jerked his hand back. "Just…make sure you wipe your hands off," he said, eyeing the pizza, "so the oil doesn't get on my cards. Don't bend them either." She looked at him expectantly, hand outstretched. He watched her intently. She rolled her eyes and wiped her hands on a napkin.

"Happy?" she asked reaching for the cards again. He frowned, but nodded and handed it to her. She gently opened the case and pulled his deck out. He stood there as she began going through his cards. After a minute, she glanced up at him. "I like this one." She held up a blue eyes white dragon card. "It suits you." She said looking at him. Seto looked smug.

"There are only four of them in the world." He stated. She looked up at him, surprised.

"Really? And you have one of them?"

"No. I have _three_." She gawked at him. "Wow. It must be nice to have money." He smirked.

"What about the fourth?" she asked. He flushed slightly.

"It's not playable."

"Oh? What happened to it?" she asked quizzically. Seto cleared his throat and walked toward his office.

"Let me know when you're done with my deck." He said breezily and walked into his office, shutting the door behind him. Sonja looked at Mokuba.

"He doesn't like to talk about it." He said simply. She looked at the closed door and the deck in her hands.

"Evidently. What happened to it?" she questioned him. Mokuba shifted in his chair and began to explain part of the story.

--

Sonja sat back in shock. Mokuba sat across from her, swinging his legs and looking around. "That-that doesn't sound like your brother at all." She said. Mokuba nodded.

"He's a lot different now. A lot of stuff happened when we were kids , then a lot more _worse _stuff happened when we were older that made him like he is now. He's a lot more like he used to be when we were kids. He smiles now." Mokuba beamed at her. Sonja felt shaken. She didn't understand everything exactly, but apparently, Seto had been a pretty horrible person when he was younger. Dueling an old man to get the card, only to tear it up himself, and put the old man in the hospital! Her head spun. How could this be the same guy? He was hard to get along with sometimes, but he was basically decent.

"Mokuba, what-what happened to him?" she asked, aghast. Mokuba looked down and stopped swinging his legs.

"I don't think he would want me to talk about it." She looked at him sadly.

"What…what can you tell me?" she asked. Mokuba looked thoughtful. He told her about their parents. How his mom had died when he was born, and his father died in an accident when he was three. He told her about their relatives spending their inheritance and placing them in an orphanage. Then about how Seto had cheated in a chess game to get them both adopted together by Gozaburo Kaiba. He said that was when it started. When Seto had set aside his morals and values and cheated to get what he wanted. Mokuba looked sad. Apparently, Gozaburo had only gone through on the adoption to use Seto for his own means. He wanted to motivate his son Noah, but found out that Seto was smarter, faster, and better at business, so he focused efforts on him. In the worst of ways. Mokuba didn't say exactly what Gozaburo had done to him, but he talked about how all their toys were taken away, but he had saved his brothers deck and hid it. He said he never saw Seto, except late at night, or rather, early morning, when his brother would tumble into bed, exhausted. Mokuba said that he was never in bed when he woke up, usually between seven and eight in the morning. That meant that Seto would get into bed after midnight and up before seven. Sonja felt a huge weight in her chest. She glanced at Seto's door. How much had he been through? She saw him in another light, a small, innocent boy, spirit crushed into submission at the hands of a madman.

She didn't know everything that happened to him when he was little, but apparently, it was really bad.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Notes:

I don't own anything and make no claims to own anything. Except Sonja. And I'm not trying to make any money off of this story. So there.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! Also, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and/or whatever holiday you celebrate! And if you don't celebrate anything, have a nice day!

MUCH thanks to the wonderful/brilliant/hardworking Beta Reader of mine, Calaeris, who worked her tail off to get everything finished. During finals. (I assume and you know what assuming does) I mean, she was working after midnight. That's dedication folks.

This: ()()()()()() will now replace line breaks because the lines have given me nothing but headaches and fits of rage trying to get rid of them.

Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks to the few who are 'watching' me/my story, hope I don't disappoint. I will probably update once a month at about 10 pages. It takes me forever to write and I want to give my beta time to review it so its all nice and sparkly for you. I may break it down to two updates a month at 5 pages each, but I haven't decided yet. Feel free to tell my your opinions in your review. *wink wink nudge*

The document uploader makes me crazy. Changing all kinds of stuff. FIVE times I have to fiddle with it. Grrboohiss.

On with the show!

()()()()()()()()()

Sonja sat smiling as Mokuba scoured the office. He would have problems finding the comic today – he always found them quickly so she decided to give him a challenge. The rules were that the books could be hidden anywhere except for in her desk or in the filing cabinets. He would never think to look underneath her, so she had decided to sit on it. Her smile grew bigger as she saw the exasperation on his face.

"MAAAAN! Where did you put it?!" Mokuba whined.

"I can't tell you that. _Duh_," she said, making a face at him.

He shot her a glare and continued searching.

_He looks just like his brother when he does that. Kind of disturbing, really, that those two can be so different and yet so alike_.

The boss man walked in and stopped at the side of her desk, watching his brother curiously.

"Mokuba," he said, and then paused before continuing, "what are you doing?"

"Looking for a comic book she hid from me," he stated, looking at the underside of the chairs in front of her desk.

"Is it yours?"

"It will be when I find it," he said as he dropped on all fours and looked under her desk.

"Oh." He looked momentarily confused. He looked at Sonja and she gave him a cheesy grin. She was rewarded with a half smile. Seto glanced around the office, trying to help out his brother. Mokuba threw his hands up in defeat.

"Where is that stupid thing!?"

Seto smiled. "Why don't you check her chair?" Sonja looked at him in shock.

"How… how did you know?" she asked, surprised.

He smiled, a _real_ smile. "I'll never tell. But next time, make sure the whole book is under your cushion." She looked down and saw a large corner poking out and laughed at herself. Mokuba yanked her up and grabbed the book.

"YESSSSS! Thanks big brother!!" Mokuba nearly roared. Then he did a dance, thanked Sonja, and ran into the boss man's office to read. Seto stood there...smirking.

"Cheater..." she accused him, grinning.

He smiled again. Sonja had noticed that he was smiling a lot more lately.

()()()()()()()

Sonja sat at the counter of the Kame Game shop, staring at a bunch of cards.

"It all depends on what kind of deck you want to build," Yami explained to her. "There are all kinds: fire, dragon, light, dark, undead, machine. Pretty much anything you like."

Sonja stared at the cards he showed her. She glanced up at him. "Are there any pretty cards?" she questioned. He stared at her aghast.

"Pretty? You-you want to build a deck based on whether they're…pretty?" She nodded absently. He sat down in shock.

"What is this world coming too?" he moaned dramatically. She glanced up at him.

"Oh don't be so dramatic. I just…I want something I can stand staring at while I play the game. These cards are creepy. I mean, Monster Graveyard? Sagi the Dark Clown? Clowns are creepy anyway and now he's a _dark_ clown." She shivered. "I just want a good deck with…nice looking cards that don't creep me out." Yami stared at her and covered his face with his hands. Sonja sighed. "Alright then, how about a deck that works well against Seto's deck." Yami looked up with a glint in his eye.

"I would be _happy_ to help you with that." Sonja smiled. She knew he would be. For the next few hours, she worked on building a deck and adding a lot of interchangeable cards. Then she got some cards specifically to work against Seto's deck. Satisfied, she left the shop and walked the few blocks to her home.

()()()()()()()

Sonja was in Seto's office, reviewing a file with him.

"Look, these numbers just don't add up. I've been over it three times, just to be sure," Sonja said, pointing at a line of numbers.

Seto nodded absently. "I saw the same thing. I wanted to see if you caught it too." She pursed her lips at him.

"Thanks. I think," she muttered. He shuffled the papers and sighed. She glanced over at him.

"Think it's another accountant skimming off the top?"

"Probably."

Sonja shook her head sadly. "How long until you find out who's behind it?" He shrugged a shoulder absently.

"When they do it again or I get enough information to take them down. I've already been working on it for the past week." He set the papers down and ran his fingers through his hair. Sonja sat on the edge of his desk.

"So that's what, four now you've caught in the past few months? And it's not even your company." She was impressed by how quickly he caught things. "You think that's part of the reason why it's failing?"

"That and bad management." He sat down and looked up at her. She quickly got off his desk.

"Sorry," she murmured. He gave a sharp nod and began making notes on the papers. Sonja made her way to the door, seeing that he seemed to be done talking about the situation. She got two steps before the door opened and Yami walked in.

"Hey Yami," Sonja said congenially. Seto looked up and nodded a greeting. Yami replied in kind and plopped into one of Seto's chairs.

"Oh Sonja," Yami said, sitting up, "I forgot, these are for you." He pulled a few cards out and handed them to her.

"Thanks Yami!" she said excitedly and sat down in the chair across from him. Seto looked up, interested.

"You got new cards?" he asked. Sonja nodded. He looked at the cards then at her.

"You can see them later," she said to him. He stiffened and looked away.

"I don't want to see your cards." he said waspishly. She grinned.

"Sure you don't." Yami chuckled, but covered it with a cough at Seto's glare.

She glanced through the cards. "These are nice Yami," she said looking at them. Seto shifted slightly and Yami saw his eyes dart towards the cards.

"You're welcome," he said with a smirk. He figured Seto would pass out when he found out why she had wanted these cards. She glanced through them and sighed heavily.

"What?" Seto asked quickly.

Sonja looked over at him as he tried to look nonchalant, but failed. She grinned and looked at her cards again. It was easy to see Seto's agitation, particularly when Yami pulled out his own deck to avoid looking at him. Sonja waited until Seto began drumming his fingers on the desk before laughing.

"You just can't stand it can you?" she asked Seto. He humphed. Yami coughed.

"Alright fine, what's with your cards?" he said impatiently.

"I knew you couldn't stand it," she said with a grin. He frowned at her, and she shrugged. She leaned forward and handed him the cards. He reached out and took them eagerly. "I can tell this game is made for men," she said with a snort. They stared at her.

"Why do you say that?" Yami asked her.

"Well, just look at all the females. The majority of them have a figure that would make a porn star jealous." She motioned towards her chest, but held her hands much farther away from her. Yami coughed hard and Seto just stared at her. "Well they do!" she exclaimed. "They're half naked, or all naked, and have…you know." She motioned with her hands again. She glanced at Seto. "Why don't they make pretty cards that aren't hooker related? I mean, good, strong cards that don't make you want to gag or creep you out when you see them?"

Seto was speechless. Yami roared with laughter.

"What?" Sonja asked, confused. Yami continued to laugh.

"I…you…you wanted cards that were _pretty_?" Seto asked, stunned.

"Well, yeah, I have to stare at them the whole time…" her voice trailed off as he stared at her, eyes wide.

"You...you don't play with pretty cards. You play with _good_ cards. Strong cards. Cards that win games, not beauty contests!" he snorted derisively. She frowned at him.

"Fine. Then I won't play at all." Yami instantly stopped laughing as she set her deck down on Seto's desk and sailed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Yami and Seto stared at each other.

"What did I say?" Seto asked, concerned.

"I…I don't know, but it sure pissed her off." Yami said, looking at the door with wide eyes.

"Well, I can't just…just…let her stop playing. It would be a travesty to the game." He glanced at her deck on his desk and the cards in his hand. He sighed. "How do I get into these messes?" he asked.

"Because girls are weird." Yami responded. Seto nodded in agreement.

()()()()()()()()

It took a week of cajoling, convincing, and logical reasoning on Seto's part to realize that Sonja wouldn't budge on her decision to not play Duel Monsters again. Apparently, women had a whole different set of reasoning then men did, so Seto tried a different tack. He sicced Mokuba on her, and she went down like ton of bricks. Less than two hours with his brother and she had grudgingly taken her deck back. Seto shook his head in amusement. Apparently, he wasn't the only one that Mokuba could manipulate easily. He smiled to himself and opened his blinds to let the sun in.

()()()()()()()()

Sonja smiled as the spring sunshine poured into her office. She turned in her chair to the sun and let it warm her face. She jerked around as Mokuba came bounding into her office.

"HeySonjaguesswhat? Ihaveagametonight! Igettoplaythirdbase! Doyouwannacomewatchmeplay? ?" he babbled excitedly.

"Whoa!" Sonja said with a laugh. "What did you just say?" Mokuba beamed at her.

"I have a game tonight! Coach told me I could start on third base! Can you come watch me? Pleasepleasepleaseplease?" he begged excitedly.

"Of course I'll come to your game," she said with a smile. Mokuba nearly crowed with excitement as he rushed around the desk to hug her. "What time does it start?"

"Six I think," he paused and thought. "I gotta go tell Seto!" He flew into his brother's office and she heard him babbling again before he could get the door closed.

Sonja tapped her pen against her lips. How had she not known about his game tonight? She was pretty sure there was a schedule somewhere that Seto had given her to help him keep track. She frowned and began to look around for it. A few minutes later her phone buzzed and she picked it up.

"Why did you not tell me about Mokuba's game tonight?"

"I…well…" she stammered, she caught herself and started over. "I didn't know. I don't know where his schedule went to. Apparently I haven't written anything in the book. I could swear I've seen it, but I don't know where it went to. I'll dig around for it and see if I can't get his coach to email one to me."

"I remember giving it to you to make sure you wrote it down for me."

"I know that _sir_, I will find it and I apologize profusely for this happening," she stated. He paused.

"Somehow, I don't really believe you," he responded. Sonja sighed impatiently.

"Do you really think I would purposely misplace Mokuba's schedule to keep you from going to his game?" He was quiet for a moment.

"Just…make sure you find it please."

"I will." She heard his side click off and she hung up her phone.

()()()()()()()

Sonja tore her office apart and still couldn't find the schedule. She knocked on Seto's door and made her way in. Mokuba was on his couch, reading. Seto glanced up at Sonja from his desk and went back to writing.

"Yes?" he questioned.

"I…I can't find it." He glanced up at her.

"Can't find what?"

"Mokuba's schedule," she replied. He set his pen down.

"Well it can't just walk away."

They argued back and forth for a few moments when Mokuba looked up from his book.

"What are you arguing about?" Mokuba asked curiously.

"She can't find your game schedule," Seto accused.

"Hey now, I've looked everywhere for-"

"But Seto," Mokuba interrupted, "You took it back and hung it up." The two adults stared at him.

"I did what now?" Seto asked. Mokuba got up and went over to one of the cabinets and pointed to a paper on the side of it.

"See?" he replied.

Seto and Sonja both moved to look at the paper. Sure enough, it was his schedule.

"Well no wonder I couldn't find it," Sonja said, glancing at Seto.

Seto flushed slightly. "Well it's found now. What time does the game start?"

Mokuba glanced at the schedule. "Six."

"I'll be there," Sonja promised.

"As will I," Seto said. Mokuba beamed and ran around like a crazy person trying to get his uniform on. Seto ended up banishing him to Sonja's office out of exasperation. Sonja ended up making him sit in a chair while she gathered his uniform and equipment that was now scattered around Seto's office. Seto thanked her gratefully for the silence.

By the time five o'clock rolled around, Sonja was ready to go crazy from Mokuba's antics. She walked into Seto's office and sat one of the chairs in front of his desk and rubbed her temples. He glanced up at her.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes. Just…let me sit here for a minute. Where it's quiet."

Seto chuckled softly and continued to work. Sonja watched him work for a few minutes.

"You're so intense," she said softly. Seto looked up at her. He realized then that she had been watching him.

"You have to be to run a company," he responded. She cocked her head and looked at him.

"How do you relax after a long, hard day at the office? Take over a small corporation?" she said with a half smile. He shook his head and continued to work. Sonja got up. "I'll go ahead and take Mokuba down to the field. We'll take your limo and have it come back for you." Seto nodded absently. She got to the door and turned at looked at him.

"Seto?"

"Mmmm?" he grunted.

"One hour."

He nodded absently. "Six. I know," he responded. She walked out the door to take Mokuba down to the field.

()()()()()()()()

Sonja waved to Mokuba as he warmed up with the rest of the team. He grinned and waved wildly back to her. She chuckled to herself, and when she saw him looking around she knew he was looking for his brother. Glancing at her watch, she found it was already 5:45. She looked around. Where was he? She picked up her phone and called him, waiting as the phone rang.

"Kaiba."

"Where are you at?" she demanded. Seto looked at his phone in disbelief. "Are you on your way here? You're in your limo right?" she persisted. He frowned at the phone, then grinned.

"No, I am not in the limo," he stated.

"WHAT?!" he heard her shriek as he held his phone away from his ear. He grinned at her outrage. He kept the phone away from his ears as she ranted at him for not being there. He waited patiently for her to finish.

"Are you quite finished yet?" he asked, nonchalantly. He could almost see her eyes bulge in outrage in his mind's eye. She began to rant at him again and he hung up on her.

Sonja stared at her phone, disbelieving. "He did NOT just hang up on me!" she practically roared.

"Yes, I did," he stated. She jerked and looked behind her. He was pocketing his phone as she stared up at him in surprise. "I don't appreciate you yelling at me," he said, eyeing her. She looked at her phone and back to him.

"You did that on purpose!" she accused. He grinned.

"Maybe." She gave a short laugh.

"Cutting it a little close aren't you?" she said, sliding over on the bleachers to make room for him.

He climbed up and settled down next to her. She scrutinized him. He had left his suit coat in the limo and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and loosened his tie. He had also brought his briefcase with him. She eyed it suspiciously.

"Seto! Seto!" Mokuba cried excitedly. They both looked up to see Mokuba waving excitedly and smiling hugely. Seto waved back and shook his head at his brother's enthusiasm.

"If he waves any harder, he'll take off," Seto muttered, causing Sonja to laugh.

"He's just excited you're here. He's been looking for you constantly."

Seto watched his brother for a few moments before opening his briefcase and pulling out his laptop. Sonja stared at him while he turned it on. She frowned deeply.

"What?" he asked.

"Tell me you are not planning on working on that thing during his game?" she said.

"I have work to finish," he said simply. She goggled at him.

"What?!" he said exasperated.

"Seto Kaiba," she said between clenched teeth, "you put that thing up and pay attention to your little brother's game. This. Instant."

He stared at her in surprise. That's when he took in her appearance.

"When…when did you change?" he asked in surprise. She was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt. She had also put her hair into a ponytail. "That's not what you left when you left the office."

"We stopped at my house on the way and I changed real quick. And don't change the subject!" she said furiously.

His eyes narrowed. "Sonja, I have work to do. Not only that, you do realize you're yelling at your _boss,_" he growled, moving closer until his nose was almost touching hers.

"I. Am not. At work," she said emphatically. Seto was taken aback by her statement. "Right now, I'm at a ballgame next to some guy who's working on a laptop instead of watching his kid brother's first ballgame," she hissed at him. He blinked hard. "Put. It. Away." she said firmly, and then leaned away.

She looked out at the field and her face brightened as she waved. He looked up to see Mokuba going up to bat. He managed a grin and a wave too. Mokuba's face brightened even more. Seto sighed and put his laptop away. Technically, they were not at work; however, she still shouldn't have spoken to him like that, even if she was right.

"How did it get to the point where _you_ boss _me _around? I'm still your boss you know." He said. Sonja shrugged absently, eyes focused on Mokuba.

"It's the only thing that makes you pay attention." She sat up quickly then relaxed. He heard someone holler something. He glanced over to his brother. One strike. He glanced back at Sonja again. She wasn't even paying attention to him anymore. He studied her for a moment. One of her curls escaped her ponytail and she brushed it away impatiently. He gave a small chuckle. He followed her gaze to his brother. He heard a loud crack and Sonja leapt up, shrieking.

"RUN! RUN! RUN! GOGOGOGOGO!" she roared, leaping up and down excitedly. He was so surprised that he watched her instead of Mokuba. She shrieked and clapped.

"Way to go Mokuba!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth. He glanced towards first base and saw Mokuba giving them the thumbs up. He jumped up and gave him the thumbs up too and clapped. Sonja grinned and nudged him.

"Aren't you glad you put that thing away?" she said. He frowned at her. He _was_ glad. He still missed Mokuba's hit though, because he had been watching her, but he would pay attention for the rest of the game. She nudged him and grinned. He stared at her. She was flushed and smiling, and her eyes lit up her whole face. "Lighten up boss man."

"See! There. You called me 'boss man' but you said you're not at work!" he almost shouted. He frowned menacingly at her. She cocked her head and looked at him.

"Seto," she said patiently, "watch the game." She turned away from him and began to watch the game. He stared at her for a long moment, then turned and did the same.

()()()()()()()()()

"I can't believe I scored three homeruns!" Mokuba said excitedly, grinning up at Sonja. She smiled and ruffled his hair.

"I know! And that pop fly you caught…_very_ nice," she said. Mokuba laughed and glanced at his brother, who was sitting across from the two of them. Seto was sitting there quietly, watching the two of them.

"You did very well Mokuba. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"I did! Did you have fun too big brother?"

Seto glanced at Sonja, then back to Mokuba. "I did." Mokuba beamed at him and turned back to Sonja. The two of them chattered excitedly all the way to Sonja's house.

When they arrived at Sonja's house, she gave Mokuba a kiss on the forehead and ruffled his hair once more. She then patted Seto on the knee as she climbed out. She thanked them for the ride home, and receiving her own thanks for going to the game, she made her way to her front door. They pulled away as Mokuba waved frantically out of the window and shouted goodbye again. Sonja smiled and returned the wave. Seto merely sighed and shook his head at his brother as the two made their way back home.


End file.
